DDoS Attacks Target Multiple Games including Final Fantasy XIV

A set of DDoS attacks plagued a series of gaming publishers including Final Fantasy XIV’s creator Square Enix and Ubisoft, respectively.

Ubisoft began experiencing connectivity issues around Oct. 4 when the officials first tweeted an alert to users informing them of issues and actual attacks began surfacing around 7:48 am CT on Oct. 5, 2018 and affected Ubisoft games such as Rainbow Six Siege and For Honor.

“​​We’re currently experiencing a series of DDoS attacks, which unfortunately are a common occurrence for almost all online service providers,” Ubisoft posted on an official forum addressing the incident. “This may impact connections to our games as well as server latency, and we are taking steps to mitigate this issue.”

Later that day Square Enix announced that it was also fighting off an attack aimed towards its popular MMORPG, Final Fantasy XIV although it is unclear if the attacks are connected or not.

In response to the high-profile incident, Corero Network Security’s Director of Product Management Sean Newman said it was “somewhat bemusing why some providers of online gaming platforms appear to still accept a certain air of inevitability when it comes to suffering as the result of DDoS attacks,” Newman said.

“With solutions available which can protect against DDoS automatically, and in real-time, help is at hand to keep games online, avoid lag, and ensure that player confidence and bottom lines, are preserved,” he continued.

Overall, many gamers noted that 2018 has been a relatively peaceful year for the online gaming community compared to previous years that were plauged by rampant DDoS attacks carried out by the Lizard Squad and other threat actors.